Sometimes, when you have an hour and a half to kill between a class and a talk, you go to the library to get some work done. Other times, you go to the library, sit on the shiny linoleum floor in an empty corridor with a cup of hot English Breakfast, and spend the hour and a half laughin it up on the phone with Jeff and Maud and Jeff again and Tom.

The Jeff again was because when I got off the phone with Maud, there was this message from the boy—“Okay, dude, I know I just got off the phone with you but things just took a brilliant turn up. I took a trivia quiz at work last week and my prize was a DVD of ‘New York Minute.’”—and, clearly, that kind of message doesn’t go unreturned. “Dude,” I said, when he picked up. “I know!” he said. “I wanted to see that when it came out,” I said, “and I just never got around to it.” “I know,” he said, “I asked you to go see it and you said you were already planning to go with Jason, and I asked you like three times and you kept saying you were going to see it with Jason, and, look, Jason was such a deadbeat that you guys never went.” “Jeff,” I said, “I like that you just don’t let go of shit.” “No,” he said, “I don’t.” I tried to make him bring it over Sunday. “Please.” “No.” “Jeff.” “No.” “Come on!” “No. . . . Maybe.” So we’ll see.